Surviving Changes and Stuff
by CrazyAsOrange
Summary: Kenny and Kyle are assigned to work together on a school project, but why is Stan so upset? For that matter, why are Kenny and Stan always bickering lately? Why is Stan so addimate on keeping Kyle away from Kenny? K2 mostly written from Kyle's POV
1. Chapter 1

"Fellas! Fellas!" An all to enthusiastic voice pierced through the cold morning's silence. I pulled my scarf tighter around my neck, trying to block out the cold air. I really hoped someone else took Butter's response this morning. I was in no mood for talking.

"What do you want, Butters?" Cartman blurted out in his usual annoyed tone. "Can't you see I'm trying to stand here?" Stan rolled his eyes and looked at me, mouthing out something I didn't quiet catch.

"Did you hear the news?" Butters stopped infront of us, bent over slightly to catch his breath. He brushed his hair away from his face before standing upright to wait for our response.

"Did you finally hit puberty?" Cartman said, initiating a round of laughter from everyone waiting around the bus stop. I couldn't help but laugh as well. The fat ass was annoying as hell, but I'll give it to him that he's clever.

"What? What do you mean?" Butters frowned and looked up at Cartman, ready to continue his questioning.

"Just get on with the news already!" Cartman cut off any further commentary. "I don't have all day." He shook his head and looked at his watch to emphasize the need for Butters to hurry.

"Oh, right. Sorry!" He mumbled a few attempts at words before getting his thoughts back together. "The bus is going to be late because of all of the snow. So make sure to stay warm!" I felt my heart drop to my frozen feet.

"You've gotta be kidding me." I kicked the snow infront of me.

"Ey, what's your problem this morning, Jew Boy?" I was used to Cartman's taunts, but for some reason I couldn't ignore him as easily this morning.

"Shut up, Cartman!" I turned and frowned a bit, not impressed by my astounding come back. I should have just answered him. Told him I had to be up late last night because Ike was out past curfew with his friends and I had to cover for him. He was too stubborn to properly handle situations with our mom, and I didn't want her to end up taking it out on everyone. Cartman laughed and pointed at me.

"Oh man! Have you been practicing that all morning? Clever, Kyle. Clever!" Stan looked over at me and then back to Cartman.

"Shut up, Fat ass. No one thinks you're funny." Cartman went off on one of his tangents, but Stan ignored him and turned to face me. I wished I could be as calm as he always is. I blow up at the smallest thing and he just stays cool.

"Seriously though, what's up? You haven't said anything all morning." The wind blew hard, burning my face. I wondered how no one else seemed bothered by it. Maybe it was because I was tired that it bugged me so much.

"It's freaking cold, dude!" I exclaimed and pointed to the snow around us. Stan raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Yeah, totally weak." He said slowly, not buying my excuse. I sighed and shook my head, knowing I wasn't getting off without filling Stan in on the details.

"Ike stayed out all night. I had to keep Mom distracted so she wouldn't find out." Stan nodded, understanding why I was bent out of shape.

"Dude, you need to let him fend for himself or he's just going to keep pulling shit like this forever!" I opened my mouth a few times, thinking of a response. I sighed, knowing he was right.

We were quiet for a while before I thought of anything else to say. I looked over to Stan to ask him about the Terrance and Philip movie, but before I could say a word Wendy appeared. I let out a breath of air and turned away from them, not wanting to hear any of their stupid conversations.

I shivered and pulled my coat closer as the wind cut through every layer of my clothing. It was miserable out here! I seen the trees rustle in the distance and knew another nasty cold gust was coming my way. I closed my eyes and turned my head. I heard the wind pass by and felt some of it, but it didn't get me. I looked over in confusion to see what stopped the wind to find Kenny standing next to me.

"What's wrong?" Kenny smirked, "Too cold for you?" He laughed, showing he was speaking in good humor.

"Hey, dude. Where were you?" Kenny shrugged and crossed one foot over the other.

"I was trying to miss the bus." He answered honestly. I laughed with him and shook my head.

"Any other day and you would have been fine!" Kenny nodded and sighed.

"Luck is just not on my side today. At least it works for you though." I frowned and looked up at him. Having to look up added even more confusion. Since when did he get taller than me?

"How does it work for me?" I asked, still not any closer to finding out what he had meant. Kenny wrapped an arm around my shoulder before responding. I would have pulled away, but he felt so warm next to me that my body wouldn't listen to my mind.

"Because otherwise you would mope around and miss me all day." I opened my mouth to respond to him before Stan cut me off.

"Hey, Kenny." Stan said, walking over to us now. Kenny looked over in Stan's direction and nodded in recognition of his greeting. Stan frowned and stood infront of us. Kenny moved awkwardly away from me before looking back over to Stan.

"Hey, Stan. Has your sister beaten you up lately?" I knew Kenny was just goofing with Stan, but something in his voice sounded more severe than usual. The two of them had been bickering for nearly a month now. I had no idea what started it, but it was really annoying. We would all hang out together, like usual. Then I would be talking with one of them and then they just would find eachother and argue about stupid things. I never though and argument over a tomato would ever last an hour.

"No, has your brother been in jail again lately?" Kenny forced a smile and nodded.

"Yeah, he was caught for beating up some annoying kid who likes to run his mouth." I stepped in between the two of them and decided to try to take over the conversation.

"Did you guys do the reading for literature today? I don't think I understand it so could you tell me what you got?" I lied through my teeth. If I ever had to ask anyone for help with homework, it would not be either of these guys. Stan would go off on a rant about how the author was sexist/racist/biased or whatever and Kenny would just try to make perverted connections from the text to god even knows what!

"Did I! Can you believe how the author was trying to argue that microwaves were one of the most revolutionary inventions? He never even stopped to mention the harm it does to the environment!" He shook his head, taking a breath to continue but much to my relief the bus pulled up.

I got on the bus and took a seat next to the window. Kenny sat down near Cartman and Stan followed Wendy to the back of the bus. They had broken up about a month ago, but it looked like they might be getting together again soon judging by the way they followed eachother around again.

I sighed and leaned my head against the window. I jumped about a foot in the air, not expecting the window to be so cold. I ended up hitting my head against the metal frame and grabbed my head in my hands. I heard Cartman laughing and saying something about the bus knowing who the enemy is. I felt someone sit next to me. Sure it was Cartman I looked up ready to say something mean but was met with big blue eyes. Kenny laughed and pushed his finger against the bruise forming on my head. I winced but pretended not to care.

"This is what happens when you don't sleep at night." I blinked a few times and stared at him. He was very perceptive. I leaned back in my seat and stared at the torn cover of the seat infront of me. I expected Kenny to walk away like he usually did. We never sat together on the bus. Kenny was either giving Cartman a hard time or flirting with his choice bimbo of the day. So when he kicked his feet up and dropped his backpack on the ground, I was shocked.

"What? No lady to sweet talk today?" Kenny grinned and looked around.

"Sweet talk? These girls? Ha. Waste of time. South Park is full of the easiest girls on the planet." I felt flustered. It was too weird to talk about a friends sex life, especially Kenny. I hated hearing anything about his relationships! I didn't even know why I brought it up! I grabbed for my backpack, hoping to find something to look distracted by. I felt Kenny watching me and looked over. He looked at me and smiled before reaching his hand into my coat pocket.

"Dude!" I jumped, surprised by the sudden pocket assault. Before I had time to ask him what he was doing, he pulled out my ipod. I instantly felt stupid and could feel my face turning red. Kenny turned it on and put one of the ear buds in his ear before offering me the other.

"A little jumpy this morning, huh?" He laughed a bit before scrolling through the music. "Did you put on any of the songs I told you to?" I ignored his first comment before taking the ipod.

"Yeah, I put it in another folder." I scrolled to the folder labeled Kenny before handing it back to him.

"Isn't that sweet? Making a music folder just for me." He patted my face as he spoke in a fake sweet voice.

"Keep it up and I'll change it all to Madonna!" Kenny shuttered dramatically.

"Ahh, I hate that anorexic fake accent speaking bitch." I laughed, not understanding his unbiased hatred towards the pop star. I thought she was pretty alright, but I would never tell him that!

High school was not much different than elementary school had been. Everyone was pretty much the same as they were when they were kids, just taller. I was generally in the same classes with my friends or at least familiar people.

Nothing really eventful happened until literature class. I always looked forward to this class because it was the only one Cartman was not in and the only one where I was with both Stan and Kenny. The teacher told us that she would announce today what our project would be.

"As I am sure you are all aware, midterms are coming up. I decided not to go with a written test this time since it really doesn't show if you learned anything. That and I am tired of you kids always stealing the answer key." The teacher turned to face the white board to write out something. I seen Kenny smile proudly and pretend to bow. He had been the king of stealing answer keys. Thanks to him, most of the class got a one hundred percent on the last test. I took no part in that though. My mom would be so pissed if she ever found out I cheated!

"So I am dividing you up into groups to do a research paper. It is up to you and your partners to pick out the topic and the requirements for the essay. I will not tell you if you are right or wrong in what you attempt until I give you your grades. By now, you should all know the quality of essays I expect." There was a buzz throughout the class as everyone was pairing up with their friends. I looked over to Stan, knowing we would be in a group together.

"I am writing out your groups on the board now." Everyone in the class moaned and began griping about how they should be able to pick their own partners and so on and so forth. I had to admit I was pretty bummed. I doubted Stan and I would be in a group now. I was putting my papers into my backpack, ready to move to whichever group I was assigned to.

"Guess it's just you and me then." Kenny said as he dropped his bag on top of my table.

"What do you mean?" I looked over to the board to see everyone had been divided up into groups of three except Kenny and I. "Oh, sweet!" I was happy I didn't have to be in a group with any of the girls. They just acted like they knew everything and tried to do all the work. Well, so did Stan. But at least he was fun to work with. I was a bit worried to work with Kenny. He was a fine student and all- when he chose to be.

"So, what are we going to do?" He asked as he took a seat next to me. I was worried I might get stuck with the whole project. I had seen Kenny do this a million times with other students. He would charm his way into them doing the project for him. I swore it wouldn't be that way with me.

"I don't know. What do you like?" I wanted to try to find some common interest so that we could both get excited about the research.

"Stuff." He shrugged with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"What kind of stuff?" I asked, praying for a normal answer.

"We can watch some videos of the stuff I like." He smirked and leaned back further in the desk. I covered my eyes and shook my head.

"No, Kenny! I told you I don't want to watch-" his laughter cut me off. I stared back at him, wondering what was so funny. He laid his chin on the desk and looked up to me.

"What a dirty mind! Is that the way your mom raised you? I meant horror movies." I felt my face burning and looked away.

"You did that on purpose." I frowned.

"Did what?" He played innocent.

"Oh, nevermind. How are we going to do a paper on horror movies?" The idea sounded silly to me. Would we just write some book report of a movie or something? There was no way I was doing that! I had an A in the class and intended to keep it.

"Compare one type to the next. Like American horror compared to Korean or Japanese or something." He looked over, wanting to see what I thought. I blinked a few times and smiled.

"That actually sounds really cool. I don't think I have any Japanese horror movies though and my mom would flip if she caught me watching a rated R movie." Kenny laughed and patted me on the shoulder.

"It's called the internet. You can get all the movies you want for free, my friend. Come over today and we'll get started." I wanted to ask him a few more questions, but he was already on his feet. The bell rang and he was out the door before I could get the chance to argue.

Stan walked over to me when class ended and looked pretty pissed. I grabbed my stuff and walked out the door with him. I expected him to say something since he was not really the type to keep his thoughts to himself. After a few minutes of silence passed, I decided to ask.

"What's up, dude?" Stan looked over at me and rolled his eyes.

"You're in a group with Kenny? Just Kenny? I wonder how he managed that one." I couldn't understand his irritation.

"Everyone else was paired up in threes, we're just one short. What's wrong with that?" Stan shook his head, ignoring my question.

"I hope you have fun doing the whole project for him. I know him. He'll just use you for everything you're worth and then run with your grade." I stood infront of him and crossed my arms.

"I am getting sick and tired of whatever shit you have with Kenny! Get over yourself, man. This is totally weak. What is your problem?" Stan closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he always did when he was irritated.

"You are just so- so dumb!" He turned from me and stomped off to his next class. Maybe I was dumb because I had no clue what the whole problem was.

I hoped to run into Kenny or Stan again that day, but I doubted I would have any luck. My last three classes were electives and all of them revolved around computer technology and computer programming. Ever since I was a kid, I liked doing that sort of stuff. I tried to pay attention to my assignment and work on breaking down a fire wall, but I was too distracted. I didn't realize how tired I was until every little thing distracted me like it was the freaking circus.

I felt relieved to hear the bell ring. I wanted to try to find Kenny to tell him I didn't want to come over that day. I was way too tired and really didn't want to be in his house. It always reeked of alcohol and whatever drug his family was into that week. I had no luck finding him until I got on the bus. He was sitting next to Cartman and ignoring every attempt I made to talk to him. I gave up and leaned against the seat.

The bus stopped at the end of the block near Kenny's run down house. I walked towards the exit with Kenny until a voice stopped me. I looked back to see Stan staring at me in disbelief.

"You're going to his house?" I looked between Kenny and Stan and felt a bit guilty, like I was doing something wrong. Kenny put a hand on my shoulder and smiled up to Stan.

"Yep, we're going to be together all today. Don't worry, I'll take good care of him." With that I was half guided half dragged off the bus. I heard the bus driver scream for Stan to sit down and looked back to see his retreating back.

I followed Kenny into the house and was stopped in my step by the smell. This time, it wasn't the usual concoction of aforementioned substances, but a lack of any sort of smell. Kenny looked back at me and grinned.

"We've got the house to ourselves this week. My parents are in some rehab program, Kevin's with his girlfriend and Karen is with her girl scout troop mom." He opened the door for me and I happily went in. It was always the best to go to a friends house without their family around. I always hated going to Stan's when his sister and parents were around, I hated it even more with Kenny! I don't think I had ever been alone with Kenny before. The thought made me a bit nervous at first.

"So, how are we going to find these movies?" I asked Kenny who had disappeared into the kitchen. He brought out two bottles of water and half a jar of peanuts out. I hoped that wasn't the only food he had for the week, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was. I noted to myself to bring food with next time some how. Kenny sat on the couch next to me and grabbed his laptop from underneath the couch. It was some ancient thing that he bought off a friend, or so the story went. He popped the screen open and put it on the table.

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing." I was worried he would say that. Before I knew it he was searching through torents to download whatever film he wanted.

"You're going to get caught one day, you know." I said placidly, feeling nervous that I would somehow get caught stealing. Kenny laughed and continued to download the movie he selected, ignoring my comment completely.

Kenny decided we would watch the Japanese version of American horror movies and compare them. I was admittedly surprised that Kenny came up with this idea. He never struck me as a school oriented person. I leaned back against the couch, feeling uncomfortably cold. It wasn't freezing, but it wasn't warm either. My eyes grew heavier all the same. About a half hour into the movie, I closed my eyes and leaned my head against a pillow.

"I'm still listening." I said with my head buried in the pillow. Kenny must have laughed really hard because the pillow even moved. I didn't think anything of it and continued listening to the movie.

"So, how's listening working out for you? I didn't know you spoke Japanese." His voice sounded very close to me, but I ignored it. I didn't know what he meant until I realized the movie was still not in English. I had long since stopped caring though. I felt warmer now and was comfortable.

I don't know when I fell asleep but I certainly did because I remember waking up to the sound of screaming coming from the laptop. I stretched my hands up and accidentally bopped Kenny in the face. I moved my hands over a bit and got him in the shoulder. I felt him laugh a bit and was confused. How was I so close to Kenny while laying on the other side of couch on the pillows. I opened my eyes and looked up to see Kenny's face right above mine. Still confused, I looked around and realized I was laying right on top of him.

"I'm sorry!" I jumped up and nearly tripped over the end table. Kenny was laughing and waving his hands.

"Don't worry, your reaction is apology enough." Kenny motioned for me to sit back down. I awkwardly sat down on the couch as far away as possible. I laughed nervously and tried to make a joke out of it.

"That was totally gay, dude. Sorry about that." Kenny laughed and shook his head.

"You could do better than that." Kenny smirked and looked over to me. I felt my heart skip a beat, feeling a rush of adrenaline with his attention turned full on me. I grabbed for the water, trying to act calm but my shaking hand betrayed me. I pretended not to notice and took a drink of water.

"Well, when we have a gay off, we'll see about that." My attempted joke sounded even dumber out loud than it did in my head.

"A gay off? I could totally kick your ass at that." Kenny crossed his arms, accepting the statement as a challenge. I felt relieved, joking was a sign he didn't think I was a weirdo.

"Oh really? Is that why you are with all the girls?" He smirked and leaned closer to me. I leaned back a bit and laughed.

"I can't help it that they are attracted. I could get any guy or girl I wanted." I rolled my eyes and laughed. Bantering with him was one of my favorite past times. He always got so passionate about challenges.

"Oh I bet you could." I said sarcastically. "How about you prove it then?" Kenny grinned and cocked his head to the side.

"And how would I go about doing that?" I put a hand on my head in thought. I wanted to have something clever to say, but my window of opportunity was closing quickly. Kenny grabbed my suspended hand and pinned me against the couch. "I know one way I could." He pressed his forehead against mine and stared me in the eye until I looked away.

"O-ok you win you win!" I stammered out nervously, feeling flustered. He laughed and took his time pulling back, probably trying to intimidate me more.

"It's getting late, we will have to continue this tomorrow." He laughed and grabbed for his laptop. I stared ahead of me feeling dazed.

"Right, more movies tomorrow." I nodded and pulled myself to my feet. Kenny laughed lighty and waved as I grabbed my coat and made my way to the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! I totally didn't expect all the love I am getting from this fanfiction! I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Thanks for all the support! It keeps me from hiding these stories away on a private computer.**

I got home without any striking events. Ike was sitting on the couch watching some show on MTV.

"Where have you been?" Ike asked, not taking his eyes off of the TV. Ike was five years younger than me, but acted like he was years ahead.

"I was out with friends, why?" Ike shrugged and grabbed for his cellphone to respond to a text message before he answered me.

"Stan stopped by twice looking for you." I was surprised to hear that. Usually if we hung out, it was at his place.

"I was with Kenny. Thanks for telling me, I'll call him back right now." I was walking down the hallway when I heard Ike mention one more thing.

"Good, he seemed pretty pissed." I would have to talk to him about using that kind of language. He was way to young to be using that kind of language!

I shut the door behind me and pulled my cellphone out of my desk drawer. I never carried it around with me and Stan knew that, but he called three times and texted five anyway. I sighed and dialed his number in. Stan picked up after the second ring.

"Kyle, where have you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you all day!" I heard Stan half say half shout.

"Dude, I was at Kenny's. You know that, you were on the bus with us." I felt uncomfortable even though I knew I had done nothing wrong.

"Right, I know that. But it's almost seven! What were you two doing for so long?" There was an unnecessary amount of concern in Stan's voice. He sounded almost betrayed.

"We were watching horror movies for-" Stan sighed loudly before cutting me off.

"I knew it. I knew he just wanted to goof around, man do I feel bad for you. I bet you are doing all the work already!" I felt defensive instantly. Kenny was a great partner!

"Weak, dude. Kenny is totally doing his share of the work. He even came up with the project! I am happy to be working with him." I heard Stan sigh and waited for his response. He was quiet for a while before saying anything.

"Be careful around him, Kyle. I don't want you to end up getting hurt." I was instantly confused. How could Kenny hurt me? Sure he was more daring than most but he never got any of involved in his schemes. Hell, Stan was worse at that than any of us!

"What do you mean? Kenny is our friend, dude."

"Just trust me. I know what I am talking about. There is more to Kenny than you know and it is better left that way." I knew Stan wasn't going to give me any more than that so I just moved the conversation on.

"Ok, dude whatever. What did you want anyway?"

"Oh, I just was um. Wondering where you where and stuff." He stuttered out a response and I knew instantly that he was just calling to rip on Kenny.

"Listen, I don't know what your issue is with Kenny but I am not going to stop hanging out around him. He's been a better friend to me lately than you have anyway!"

"What? What is that supposed to mean? We're better friends than you and Kenny, always have been." I stood up angrily and paced around the room, unable to sit still now.

"Really? Because you haven't thought twice about me since Wendy and you got together at the beginning of this year. Hell! Even after you broke up with her you have been spending more time with her than with me." I heard Stan laugh on the other line.

"Is that all? Kyle, you should have just told me you wanted to spend more time together." I felt a bit annoyed by the way he trivialized my anger, but I was really happy to hear he would spend more time with me.

"Really? Well, cool." I felt short on ways to respond.

"Totally cool. How about we hang out tomorrow? Just you and I." His request sounded innocent enough in words but something about the forceful way he said it made me feel a bit nervous. I shook it off figuring I was just trying to pick out a reason to hold onto anger towards him.

"Yeah, that sounds great! What do you have in mind?" I heard Stan hum in thought before responding.

"Well, Wendy is having a party. It would be totally cool if we went." I held the phone away from my ear and threw myself backwards into the bed with annoyance. Of course, typical Stan. Everything was always about his convenience, never anyone else's.

"Seriously, dude?" I heard Stan laugh nervously on the other end.

"Well, I sorta promised Wendy I would help her set up and stuff so-"

"Forget it, dude. Have fun with Wendy. I'll see you at school tomorrow." I didn't wait for him to respond before hanging up. I tossed the phone to the foot of my bed and grabbed for a pillow, holding it close to my chest. I shouldn't have been surprised. Stan had been doing the same thing for months! Ever since Wendy batted her stupid eyes at him, I was second in his book. So much for Super Best Friends!

After a short period of sulking a walked over to my desk and grabbed my backpack. I pulled out the pages I would need to complete before class and sighed. I flipped through a few trying to find something easy to start with. I smiled when I came across the rubric for the project in English. I smiled and thought over the day spent with Kenny. It was probably the most fun I had in a while.

My mind trailed off to this past afternoon. My heart beat with excitement realizing I could spend the entire week with Kenny like that! The project was the perfect excuse for private time. Not that I needed an excuse or cared if it was just us. It wasn't a big deal, we were just friends. But it made me feel pretty good to know I had his undivided attention. He wasn't popular, per say but he still had quiet the following. Kenny was great to be around. He wasn't like everyone else in South Park. He had ambition for more than the usual career oriented shit.

I felt embarrassed as I looked at the clock realizing how long I had been mentally gushing over my friend. I grabbed for my computer programming book and calculus homework. I needed something to distract myself.

After a long evening of spacing out and doing homework, I finally was ready to go to bed. If it hadn't been for the unplanned nap earlier- I felt my face burning as I recalled the specific details. Kenny always wore that parka, so it wasn't my fault he felt puffy enough to be a pillow. I mean, he was much warmer than a pillow and probably harder but- I shook my head. It was an innocent and justifiable mistake.

I woke up the next morning feeling unrested. I was riddled with dreams of Kenny and Stan and weird scenarios lightly based around whatever assigned reading I had in other classes. I felt my stomach growl a painful reminder that I had skipped dinner the night before to finish school work. I grabbed a granola bar and was heading out the door before my mind flashed back to Kenny and our meal of peanuts and water the day before. I grabbed another and jammed it in my pocket before finishing getting ready.

I was later getting to the stop than usual and seen that Stan and Kenny where already there. I was about to greet them until I seen they were in the middle of what appeared to be a heated conversation.

"You know I am right, Kenny." I heard Stan say angrily.

"No, I don't. Infact I know you are wrong." Kenny's voice was much more calm but still threatening.

"Stay away from him. You're no good for him." Kenny laughed and shook his head.

"And you are? He was there for you every second during your parents last divorce threat and what happened the day it ended? You disappeared right back up Wendy's ass." Stan opened and shut his mouth a few times before speaking.

"I am always there for him and he knows it." Kenny smiled and crossed his arms.

"Does he? Because I sure see something different. You aren't the one he's coming to anymore." I seen Stan's eyes widen in disbelief.

I had no idea what to do! Sure, Stan had been being an ass but had I really been keeping things from him? I felt guilty as I thought over a few things I confided only in Kenny. I knew I would have told Stan if he hadn't been so busy though. I knew I should tell them I was there, but curiosity and awkwardness kept my mouth glued shut.

"You're full of shit, Kenny. Why would he ever trust you?" Kenny shrugged, not even justifying Stan with an answer. Stan was visibly irritated now and rose his voice a bit louder. "Kyle is way more comfortable with me than he would ever be with anyone else." Kenny smirked and looked off into the distance.

"I beg to differ, just judging by our time alone last night I know that isn't true." Stan was getting even more flustered.

I couldn't understand why Stan was getting all bent out of shape. If he wanted to be better friends then he just needed to be there. He is still my best friend- right? If I had to choose between the two I would still choose Stan- I'm pretty sure anyway. I felt a bit embarrassed with Kenny twisting what happened last night into a way to upset Stan. We were just watching movies!

"What did you do to him? You're sick, dude!" Stan gritted his teeth, trying to contain himself. This only amused Kenny more.

"I wasn't the one who did anything." What was he doing? He was making the whole night sound totally different than it was! I couldn't just walk out now and say something though or they would know I was there the whole time. I ducked down further behind some shrubs to continue listening.

"Now I know you're lying. Kyle would never-" Kenny put a finger to his lips and smiled.

"Sshh I think someone's coming." He looked over his shoulder and stared directly at me before looking back to Stan. Stan seen Butters and Tweek walking over and ended his commentary.

That bastard! He knew I was there the whole time! I straightened myself out when Stan turned around and made my way over to them, trying to act as normal as possible. Stan stared at me a little too long before saying anything. I felt embarrassed instantly. I hadn't done anything wrong though! The ending part of the night flashed through my mind with Kenny pretending to kiss me. I tried to find something to distract my mind with.

"Kyle?" Stan asked. Oh no! I completely ignored whatever he had said just a few seconds earlier. I heard Kenny snickering quietly.

"S-sorry, dude. What did you say?" Stan shot Kenny a look before answering me.

"I asked if you were busy after school today." I remembered his talk of Wendy's party and was about to shoot him down, but with the conversation I just overheard it wouldn't be that easy.

"Well, a little but-"

"Great! So you want to come over and play video games?" Stan said eagerly. Much to my relief, Cartman made his presence known.

"Ey! What are you doing trying to make plans without me, hippie?" I never thought I would be happy to see Cartman, but I was ready to hug him at this moment!

"Uh, well you weren't here or I would have invited you." Cartman waved his hand dismissively in his direction before turning to Kenny.

"You're going too right, poor boy? I still owe you an ass kicking from last time." Kenny smiled victoriously at Stan and spoke for the first time since their dispute this morning.

"Kick my ass? Not on your life fatso." Kenny and Cartman then engaged in one of their weird conversations. I looked over to Stan who stood awkwardly with a forced smile. It was almost laughable to see how uncomfortable he looked!

"What's up?" I asked him.

"Just the usual, what about you?" He asked with a bit too much faked interest. I laughed.

"The usual. Ike's being a trouble maker and school sucks." We laughed and talked briefly about trivial things before the bus pulled up. Things were seeming pretty good between us. As pissed as I was that Stan was trying to pick who I could and couldn't be friends with, it was nice to see he still gave a shit.

"So what has Ike been up to anyway?" Stan asked as he took his seat next to me. I saw him glance over a few times to the back of the bus no doubt trying to find Wendy. I tried to ignore that and decided to just try to keep his attention and answer his question.

"Dude, he's being a total asshole!" I started and shook my head. It really had been bugging me, so I was glad he asked. "He's in eighth grade and acts like he's some Hollywood celebrity. He's dated more women than anyone I know!"

"Even Kenny?" Stan threw in quickly. I laughed and shook my head.

"Even if you consider the women he's been with as dating, Ike still has been with more!" I added for dramatic effect. I actually never counted either of their scores before- it wasn't something I really ever wanted to know.

"Dude, sick!" Stan said with a laugh. "How's your mom taking this whole rebellious thing?" I was excited to see he was trying to keep the conversation going on. I wondered how much of it was out of curiosity and how much was out of wanting to talk to me. I felt a bit smug either way.

"She doesn't even know the half of it." I frowned and leaned back in the creaky bus seat. "I do everything I can to keep it a secret. From covering for Ike when he's out to cleaning up his messes, I do everything!" Stan shook his head and leaned back as well.

"That's totally weak, dude. Why are you doing all that? It seems like more work than it's worth." I shrugged, not really knowing how to explain the dilemma I was in.

"You know my mom. She is great and everything but when she flips..." I shuddered at the thought. "It is like World War 3 in that house! I hate to see her so upset and I hate how she takes it out on everyone. Ike is too young to understand what he is doing so-"

"Too young my ass." I heard Kenny chime in. I didn't even know he was paying attention! I felt Stan tense up next to me and looked over to Kenny.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Kenny slid over to our seat, squeezing himself on and crushing himself against Stan in the process. Cartman was still rambling on about something in the seat across from us. I don't think he noticed that Kenny left. The fat ass probably couldn't see past himself anyway!

"Dude, there is not enough room here for three people! We're not in fourth grade anymore!" Kenny laughed and scooted closer to Stan. I pressed myself close to the window, trying to give everyone as much room as possible. Kenny ignored Stan completely and looked over to me.

"He's totally using you and you're letting him walk all over you." Stan sighed in annoyance but kept whatever he was going to say to himself. I never realized Ike was such an interesting conversation piece.

"I am totally not! He is just-" Stan laughed, cutting off my response.

"I hate to admit it, dude. But Kenny's right." I felt annoyed and ganged up on. I was just being a good brother! Kenny nodded to Stan and then looked back at me.

"He will try to get away with as much as he can and you are giving him free reign over it all. You know that he knows what's right and wrong by now. I know you did by his age." The wind was taken out of my sails for any chance at argument. Everything Kenny said was true. "Just let him get in trouble a few times and he will get his ass in line."

"Yeah, just do that. Now go finish story time with Cartman, Kenny. We were in the middle of a conversation." Kenny smiled and leaned back in the seat.

"No, it's all good. I'm pretty comfortable right here. But you can go if you want, Stan. I think Wendy is sitting next to Token today again. You better go make sure he isn't trying to score with your woman." Kenny mocked him. I looked out the window and sighed. We were just passing the strip of houses that indicated we were halfway to school. We still had at least ten minutes to go.

"Fuck you, Kenny! I was talking to Kyle." They bickered back and forth for too long before I was fed up with it. I got up and squeezed past my two now very confused friends and sat down in the empty seat next to Cartman.

"Hey, Jew boy! What's going on? Trying to scam the hardworking man out of his-"

"Shut up, fat ass." I said and stared at the seat infront of me. Stan left to go sit with Wendy and Kenny sat in the seat by himself. He didn't seem to care so neither did I.

"Oh no." Cartman said and began fishing through his backpack quickly. "No no no no no!" Cartman went off in his too loud and over dramatic voice.

"What is it now, Cartman?" I was jolted forward as Cartman began shaking my shoulders violently.

"It's due today!" He let me go and slammed his head against the seat infront of him causing a few angry comments to be sent back his way.

"What is?" I tried to straighten my ushanka after Cartman's attack.

"My life is over." Cartman sighed Kenny scooted to the edge of his seat and looked questioningly to me. I shrugged and waited for Cartman to continue.

"Are you talking about the speech due?" Kenny offered. Him and Kenny were in almost every class together, so it made sense that Kenny would know what Cartman was referring to. Cartman nodded and shot up in his seat.

"Hey, Kenny. How would you like to make five dollars?" Kenny rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Doing what?" Cartman smiled and leaned closer towards him. I shoved him away because getting closer to Kenny meant leaning across me.

"Ey! Cut that out, Jew!" Cartman cleared his throat and continued. "Give me your speech. No one expects you to pass anyway." I shoved Cartman hard causing him to slam into and then bounce slightly off of the window.

"Don't be such an asshole, Cartman!" Kenny laughed and nodded a thank you to me.

"What the hell was that for? I am creating jobs, Kyle!" He crossed his arms, getting all pissed off.

"I'll give you everything in my pocket not to help Cartman!" I pulled out two granola bars and heard Cartman gasp.

"Not fair! Bribing the poor kid with food is totally cheap!" I tossed the food over to Kenny who shrugged and looked to Cartman.

"Sorry, Jew runs a hard bargain." He said and opened the first bar. I sighed happily to myself, glad that I grabbed those this morning and got the chance to give it to Kenny in a totally not embarrassing way.

We got to school not to long later and I was happy to disappear into my first few classes without any of my friends there to make it weird. I liked being around them and stuff, but not with the amount of weird lately.

The lesson in calculus was a review of the past chapters. I assumed this meant the teacher was going to announce a test at the end of the period. I spaced out and pretended to take notes. It would be neat to play video games with everyone after school. We hadn't done that since pretty much forever. As exciting as it sounded though, I was a bit bummed I had to waste alone time with Kenny.

"-and that is why I know none of you will be objecting to the test on Friday!" I heard the teacher say in a too cheerful voice. I knew it.

Not that hanging out with everyone was a waste of time. I mentally worded that wrong. It was just that time with Kenny was more- I don't know. More something. Things were changing like crazy ever since we got into high school. Hanging out as a group wasn't always an option and when we were all together, it was almost always weird. Stan spent most of the time text messaging Wendy, Cartman was still his usual ass self and often off getting himself into trouble and Kenny was... Kenny.

I smiled to myself and realized he was always just as awesome. He was always there for us when we needed him and never really asked anything in return. I felt guilty realizing how much I blew him off to try to fit into Stan's schedule. I wondered if that was on purpose. I was broken out of my thoughts with the bell sounding.

The rest of the day went by without much event. There was a long lecture in english which prevented any conversation between Kenny, Stan and I. I didn't see them extensively in passing and though the day dragged, it still seemed to end pretty quickly.

"Hey, Kyle." Stan waved and walked over to my locker. I tried to wave while pulling out a book and sent a notebook flying halfway across the hallway. Stan laughed and grabbed it.

"Thanks, man." I shoved it back in my locker and closed the door. Stan and I used to share lockers, but he had a serious issue with cleaning. I am not a neat freak, but he drives me insane! We had to move out or it would have driven us insane.

"You ready to head out?" Stan pointed to the door and took a step forward.

"I thought fat ass and Kenny were coming?" I questioned.

"Nah, Cartman got detention again for being a racist asshole in speech class." I laughed and clapped my hands together.

"That is perfect. What an idiot!" I followed after Stan who seemed to be rushing to leave. I felt someone throw an arm around me and looked over to see Kenny had caught up.

"You guys weren't planning on leaving without me, were you?" Stan rolled his eyes and kept walking.

"We all have to take the same bus. It's not like we could anyway." He said flatly.

"Ouch, Stan. If I didn't know better I would think you didn't want me around." Stan turned around to continue the argument with Kenny. I stepped away from both of them and turned to face them.

"I am so sick of both of you acting like this!" I shouted. "If you can't keep your shit together, I'm going home right now!" Stan sighed and looked over to Kenny who was smiling back at him.

"Fine, whatever. Let's just go." Kenny shook his head and pointed to Wendy's approaching figure.

"I think she wants to talk to you." Stan looked between the two of them before a tearful Wendy approached.

"Oh, Stan. It's horrible!" Wendy covered her face with her hands and began to cry a little louder.

"What happened?" Stan asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. I felt my heart sink to my feet. Of course, leave it to Wendy to ruin everything.

"Someone must have taken my text books. They aren't in my locker or any of the classrooms!" She sniffed and held up her backpack. "I only have my notebooks! My dad is going to freak out, Stan!" Stan looked nervous before declaring the words I knew I would hear.

"Don't worry, Wendy. I'll help you find them. They have to be somewhere! Who would steal text books?"

"Dude, what the hell? We have plans remember?" I crossed my arms, not wanting to back down just yet. Wendy looked over to me and frowned.

"It's ok, Stan. Token already offered to help me find them so-" Stan shook his head and smiled.

"No, school is more important than video games anyway." Stan looked over to me with an apologetic expression. I shook my head and walked towards the exit. I knew nothing had changed. Kenny was right this morning to call Stan out on his shit! I was glad I didn't interrupt.

"How lame." I heard Kenny say. I looked over and seen him keeping pace with me. I slowed down and nodded.

"Totally, lame." I concluded, not wanting to say much else. I felt all choked up and angry and knew I would say something I'd regret if I kept talking.

"Want to come over and work on our project?" Kenny suggested. My spirits lifted immediately. Leave it to Kenny to find a way to make everything awesome again.

"Sweet! I'm in!" I said with a bit too much enthusiasm. Kenny laughed and patted my back.

"Eager today, aren't we?" He grinned. I felt my face flush and shoved him.

"Shut up, dude!" Kenny was always saying and doing weird shit like that. I felt totally lame getting weirded out by it now.

Stan and Wendy weren't on the bus when we got on. I was glad for it. I didn't want one of Stan's lame ass apologies. Kenny grabbed for my ipod and looked over to offer me an ear before frowning. I guess it was clear I was still pissed.

"You seemed more pissed than usual. What's up?" I thought of making something up before just deciding to give him the full story.

"Stan and I talked on the phone last night and he promised he was going to stop ditching me for Wendy all the time. He said he would make more time for us and I believed him. Then of course, the second Wendy comes calling-" I shook my head, too annoyed and frustrated to continue.

"He's always doing that." Kenny shrugged but spoke in a sympathetic manner. "We've said things about that to him before. Cartman and I did anyway." I was surprised to hear this. Not so much about Kenny, he was always defending us.

"Cartman too, really?" I half laughed. Kenny made a face and laughed a bit as well.

"Yeah, well Cartman mostly commends him for blowing you off." We both laughed and exchanged commentary mocking Cartman. Kenny handed me the other ear for the Ipod, finishing the rest of the trip in silence, minus the Iron Maiden accompanying us.

I followed after Kenny into the empty house and took a seat on the couch.

"I'm going to grab something for us to eat. Is left over pizza cool?" I nodded and grabbed for my backpack to get the grading rubric. After searching through my folder I realized Kenny still had it. I slid his bag over to me and began to unzip it, hearing the microwave humming.

"Hey, do you have the rubric?" I asked and unzipped the bag. I was surprised to see how many books were piled into his bag. I frowned, seeing books for classes he wasn't even in. They looked like classes that-

I quickly zipped the bag and pushed it away. The mystery of where Wendy's book had gone just ended!


	3. Chapter 3

I stared at the zipped backpack not knowing what to do or say. Why in God's name would Kenny steal Wendy's books? He seemed to be up to something when Wendy ran over to get Stan's attention. He must have had the books before she came over because we didn't separate after that.

"What are you staring at?" I jumped about a foot in the air, not hearing Kenny come up behind me. He laughed and looked over to his backpack. His face didn't change, but I heard him take in a quick breath. I decided to just ask him why the books where there. He must have had a good reason!

"So, uh. Why are Wendy's books in your backpack?" Kenny laughed and walked around the couch, setting the food on the table before sitting down next to me.

"Poor nosey Kyle." Kenny shook his head and leaned back in the couch. I expected him to say something else. Instead, he grabbed for the laptop and a piece of pizza.

"Dude, that isn't an answer." I grabbed the laptop out of his hands and put it on the table. Kenny laughed again, unphased. I shoved him in annoyance and grabbed his backpack, dumping the books on the floor.

"Busted." Kenny said through a smile. I rolled my eyes, feeling increasingly irritated.

"What the hell? Why did you take Wendy's damn books, Kenny?" I stomped my foot on the ground, trying to give my words more impact.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kenny cocked his head to the side, staring me down. I frowned, not understanding at all- more like not wanting to.

"Text books from shitty South Park High School won't get you that much money and it isn't even that funny of a joke. It's weak, dude." Kenny shook his head and rose to his feet as well, mirroring me now.

"You've got that right. So if it isn't for shits and giggles or for some cash, why would I steal poor Wendy's books?" I stared at him, trying to think of some sort of answer. I shook my head and laughed.

"Dude, trying to figure you out is damn near impossible. I don't know why you do most anything!" Kenny seemed satisfied with that answer and gathered the books off the ground. We settled ourselves down back on the couch and waited for the next horror movie to load. The question was still eating at me. Risking sounding like a broken record, I decided to ask once again.

"But seriously, why did you take them?" Kenny stared thoughtfully at the loading screen on the computer, as if it held some secret intrigue other than a distraction from answering me. After a few moments of silence, I gave up on an answer before I heard Kenny let out a small laugh.

"Would you still have come over if Stan hadn't blown you off?" The sheer amount of effort Kenny put into his voice to sound like he didn't give a shit about my answer surprised me. There was almost a tinge of hurt hanging at the end of his words.

"If you had asked me to, of course I would!" I spoke the words too quickly before realizing how silly they must have come off. Kenny raised an eyebrow and looked over to me with a smirk.

"So it's as easy as that?" He asked, the smile spreading across his face. I tried to ignore the obvious look of malice growing in his eyes and answered his question with my own.

"What is?" I couldn't tell what he was referring to.

"Separating you from the super best." I opened my mouth, trying to will the right answer to come out separate from my brain. I felt defensive and embarrassed at the same time.

"It's not like we're always together, dude." I muttered out, not knowing what else to say. I was my own person these days. Stan and I had once been copies of eachother, or so it felt anyway.

"I'll hold you up to that, Kyle." Kenny smiled and turned to face me. I shrunk back in the couch feeling unusually nervous around him.

"What do you mean?" I now took to Kenny's previous job of watching the loading screen on the laptop. It really sucked as a distraction.

"Whenever I tell you to come with me, you will." I shrugged and tried to laugh it off.

"Sure, dude. Whatever. Let's just watch this movie already." The way Kenny twisted the simple statement into a device to get what he wanted was so typical of him. I had seen him do it a million times, but never thought I would be the one being done over. The idea excited me more than it should have, but it felt nice to know I was wanted, especially by Kenny.

The movie was pretty decent, nothing out of the ordinary though. Kenny took out any chances for it being scary by laughing at every other scene. Had I watched it alone or with someone else, it might have been much creepier.

"So where are we even going to start with making this into a paper?" I asked, not really caring right now about the question but more wanting to fill in the void of sound that fell over us with the ending of the movie. Kenny shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.

"Amount of boobs shown?" Kenny suggested. I rolled my eyes. Typical Kenny response.

"Great plan, Kenny." He smiled and crossed his arms, looking over at me now.

"What? You don't like boobs?" Kenny asked. I felt like the question was loaded and with whichever answer I went with I would wind up regretting it.

"No one on Earth could like boobs as much as you do, dude. Don't be threatened." There! Turn it back on him. I figured I that would throw him off a little. Of course he proved me wrong three seconds later.

"Awhhh what's wrong, Kyle? Jealous that I might be paying more attention to something than you?" I stared at him without a word ready to grab for in response. With the growing gap in

"Right. Because that is what I worry about at night, Kenny. Whether or not you are thinking about me or boobs before you go to bed." I rose to my feet and walked over to grab my backpack which had apparently been tossed into the corner. I didn't need anything out of there, but I needed an excuse to stand up.

"I knew it." I heard Kenny say from the other side of the room. I looked over to see him shaking his head with a fake sad look on his face.

"What did you know?" I asked, knowing he wouldn't say anything unless I spoke.

"That you are in love with me." I froze, feeling very weirded out by these words. I knew he was joking, but my mind still combed through the possibilities anyway. I decided the best thing to do in a time like this was just play around. There was less harm in that then trying to be serious around Kenny when he was acting like this.

"You caught me." I shrugged and walked back towards the couch. "All these years I was just waiting for you to stop chasing girls and be with me." The amount of sarcasm in my voice should have made it very clear I was messing around, but something in Kenny's face made me wonder.

"But what would Stan think?" Kenny said, mumbling into his parka. I laughed, relaxing now. I was sure he was messing around now too. I put a hand to my head and leaned against the table.

"Oh, Kenny. You know it was only ever you I wanted!" Kenny jumped to his feet suddenly scaring me and causing me to nearly trip over the end table. He caught me around the waist and pulled me up part way, keeping me still slightly suspended. Kenny grinned and leaned his face close to mine, a leering expression on his face. My heart was pounding against my chest so hard I wondered if it was audible.

"Good." With that, Kenny closed the distance between us. His lips grazed against mine, kissing me for the briefest second before I lost any balance I had and crashed to the ground. Kenny laughed lightly and stared down at me with a proud smile gracing his face.

"What was that?" I hoped the words would come out more condemning. Instead it came out as a pathetic sounding question coming from a confused me still lying on the floor.

"Whatever you want it to be." Kenny stated evenly. I pushed myself shakily to my feet and stood still for a few seconds, waiting for my mind to catch up. I tried to force myself to laugh which ended up coming out sounding like a cross between a cough and some strange animal call.

"Good one. You totally freaked me out." I started. Kenny cocked his head to the side, still smiling. I looked around for something, anything to get away from this- whatever this was!

"Freaked out, huh?" Kenny reached over and slid a finger lightly over my cheek. "Is that why your face is all red? So scared that all the blood just rushed right to your face?" I took a few steps back, more careful about my footing now than before.

"Yeah, probably all the movies and stuff too." I did that weird laugh thing again and looked to my watch. It was not nearly as late as I wished it would have been, but it would have to do. "Well I am probably going to get heading back." I turned on my heel and teetered towards the door. "Lots of-"

I gasped feeling an arm wrap around my chest and the other around my waist, pulling me roughly backwards into Kenny's chest. "Kenny! I- I"

"Going so soon?" Kenny spoke softly, his lips brushing against my ears. My heart was pounding so hard I couldn't even see straight. I cleared my throat and tried to step away but that was not anywhere near what Kenny wanted. He pulled me back harder, making an exit impossible unless it was by him.

"Quit it, ass hole!" My words wavered audibly which apparently entertained Kenny. I felt Kenny laugh and drop the arm from around my waist and brush my hair behind my ear before returning.

"Are you going to go run and tell Stan I was picking on you?" He pulled me tighter into him before continuing. "Are you wishing you had listened to him?" He taunted.

"Let me go!" I tried again to pull away from his embrace. I could hear my ears ringing and felt weak in my knees, neither of which helping my case.

"What are you getting yourself all worked up about, Kyle?" He squeezed his arm tight around my waist, knocking the air out of me. "Don't you trust me?" I struggled to take in a breath before being released and falling to the ground on my hands and knees. I took a few quick breaths in, trying to calm myself down. Kenny slid down next to be and leaned his back against the door, smiling coyly back at me.

"What's your problem?" I asked angrily, staring back at him. Kenny shrugged and looked at me innocently.

"With what?" I jumped to my feet and tried to open the door with him leaning against it. It was a useless effort.

"With what? With what? Are you kidding me?" I shouted. Kenny laughed and stood up slowly. I took a step back instinctively.

"So sensitive." He walked over and sat back on the couch. The door was clear for me to leave, but even without him physically doing so I was still trapped.

"You're an asshole, Kenny." I turned to face him. He shrugged and leaned back in the couch, completely calm.

"You have so much to learn." He said absently, reaching for him computer. "Well? I thought you had somewhere to be?" He said without raising his eyes from the screen. I looked between him and the laptop a few times, feeling defeated.

"Yeah, I do." I tried to sound a portion as intimidating as he did. I could tell how effective the attempt was when he laughed.

"Don't forget your backpack." He pointed to the corner. I walked over slowly, keeping an eye on him. Though it seemed now that he was completely disinterested. Maybe I was just over reacting. I tried to shake the thoughts off.

"Uh, well I guess I'm going now." I put my hand on the door knob, waiting for something. I didn't know what. I didn't know why. He spent the past God knows how long tormenting me, that should have been motivation enough to run out the door.

"I'll see you again tomorrow." He looked up and grinned. "Same time, right?" I blinked a few times before nodding and quickly ducking out the door, wishing I had left much sooner now.

I didn't even know where I was going, but I was walking there as quickly as I could. Before I knew it, I was standing at Stan's door step. What was I planning on saying? _Hey Stan! I found out Kenny stole Wendy's books to make sure I came over alone today and then he totally tried to jump me. How was lunch? _Before I had time to turn and leave the door flew open infront of me.

"What are you doing, turd?" Shelly barked at me. I hadn't even heard her coming! I must have been more lost in thoughts than I thought because she was not quiet about her movements.

"I, um. Is Stan home?" Shelly rolled her eyes and stomped back into the house.

"Stan!" She shouted. I took that as a yes.

"Yes?" Stan ran down the steps at the sound of his lovely sister's voice. Even though he was in high school, he was still terrified of her. Luckily enough for him she was off at college most of the year now. Shelly pointed at me before traipsing back into the living room.

"Dude, are you ok?" Stan walked over to me quickly. I shook my head quickly and smiled.

"Oh yeah, totally fine. Just surprised to see Shelly is all." Stan looked over to his sister and back to me and laughed.

"Yeah, great surprise huh?" We both laughed. I followed him back up to his room and was relieved to see that Wendy was not there. I was silent for too long and apparently prompted Stan to start one of his awkward attempts at small talk. He tried to tell me about a squirrel he seen while walking home.

"So it barked at you?" I laughed and held my head.

"Dude! I am totally serious! I ran and it barked at me!" He was trying to hold back a laugh as well, but I could tell he was being serious.

"Do you think it was the neighbors dog or something? Last time I checked, squirrels don't bark!" Stan slumped over in his chair and shook his head.

"One day you will see that squirrel. Then you will never doubt what I say again." We both laughed, but his words made me think about the whole incident with Kenny. I quickly tried to change the topic, but Stan was already one step ahead.

"So where have you been, anyway?" I squirmed nervously in the bean bag I was seated in and looked out the window for a second.

"Just here and there." I shrugged. I felt guilty lying to him, but there was no way in hell I was about to tell him about anything that happened with Kenny! Stan frowned, but nodded and accepted my answer without any question.

"Wendy ended up running off with Token to have him help find her books." At least I got to hear about the new updates with Stan's jealousy over the girl he claimed to be over. He went through every detail of the story which was just unbelievably dull.

"Wow, so do you think they found them?" I asked even though I knew exactly where the books were and knew they wouldn't be seeing them any time soon.

"Nah. I bet Token stole them so he could try to spend more time with Wendy. I would put money on it!" I looked away. The books were taken with the intention to steal more time, but not on either of their parts.

"Totally weak, dude." I said with a laugh. Stan reached over and turned the TV set in his room on and switched it to some news show. He also did this. Turn on the news, get pissed off about something and try to rally up the forces to go and change the world. Well, that is what he used to do. Now every story somehow related to Wendy.

My mind slipped back to the afternoon's events. The way Kenny acted was so uncalled for. He was like a completely different person almost. I frowned, realizing the last thought was wrong. It was exactly like him, but without reserve. He was intimidating, overbearing and that was what made him Kenny. Beneath his goofiness and seemingly light hearted nature, he was really stupefying. It was kind of sexy. I mentally slapped myself for the last thought and nearly jumped out of my skin when Stan's phone went off. He raised an eyebrow at me and laughed before grabbing it.

"Kenny? What could he possibly want?" I felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest. Why would he be calling Stan? Stan answered the phone. "What do you want?" He asked, forcing more annoyance in his voice than needed. I couldn't hear what Kenny had said, but it clearly pissed Stan off. He narrowed his eyes and pinched his fingers over the bridge of his nose. "Yeah. I'll tell him." With that, he hung up the phone and turned to look at me.

"So, uh. What did Kenny want?" I tried to act as innocently as possible. The look on Stan's face changed from angry to hurt to confused before he answered.

"Kenny told me to tell you that you left your hat at his house when you came over this afternoon." I felt my heart drop to my feet and my eyes soon followed.

"Oh, well it was such a quick visit that I-" Stan sighed loudly and paced the room a few times before turning to face me.

"What is going on with you two?" The voice he used was a clear attempt at condemnation, but it came off almost completely as concern which made me feel even worse.

"Nothing, dude. We're just working together-"

"Don't give me that shit!" Stan stomped his foot on the ground to add emphasis. I sunk back into the bean bag chair, feeling very small for the second time today. "What is he holding over you?" Stan's voice was much softer now. He lowered himself down to my level, but did not make eye contact. "You can tell me, dude."

"Nothing! He just- I mean I just, we- we just- it was. Nothing, he doesn't have anything over me." I put a hand to my head, realizing how incriminating my inability to form a sentence sounded.

"It's okay, Kyle." Stan sat down next to me. I sighed deeply and hugged my knees to my chest. There was no way getting around any of this.

"He really doesn't. I don't have anything to hide. We've been working together is all and things are getting- weird I guess." I shrugged and looked over Stan. He was obviously trying to figure out if I was telling the truth or not.

"What is he doing to make things weird?" I felt my face burning red and looked away quickly, knowing it would betray any hope I had to keep everything super weird a secret. I seen Stan's mouth drop in horror. He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back towards him. "What did he do?" I shook my head and waved my hands.

"No, dude! It wasn't anything like that it was just a kiss and- oh shit!" I slammed my hand over my face. Stan was quiet for a few seconds. It seemed to stretch on for hours.

"You kissed Kenny?" He finally asked in disbelief.

"He kissed me! And it was only a second. Not even really-" I shut myself up. Nothing was going to justify what I had said.

"And you're okay with this?" He asked gently.

"It's just a kiss and it's Kenny, I mean he's kissed like a million people I mean, I doubt it even meant anything to him he was probably just goofing around and. And-" The words were not coming out at all like they should have. Stan exhaled and leaned back against the wall, like the conversation was literally weighing him down.

"So you don't care? If someone just kissed you right now, it would just be a little weird? That's it?" I covered my face with my hands and shook my head.

"That's not what I mean!" Stan slammed his hand against the ground.

"So what do you mean then, Kyle? Because I sure as hell can't figure it out right now!" I looked hugged my knees tighter and stared at my feet, unable to take in a steady breath. He hated me. There was no doubt about it. My best friend thought I was the scum of the Earth. I bit the inside of my lip hard, trying to find a different pain to focus on.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled into my knees. I heard Stan sigh and get back up to his feet. I didn't bother watching where he was going. He was probably going to march out the door and wait for me to leave. When I felt him grab me up by the arms and pull me into a hug, I was so surprised I could have screamed.

"I'm not mad at you, Kyle." He said lightly and pulled back to face me. "I'm fucking pissed at Kenny, but not you." I stared down at the ground and frowned.

"Why are you mad at him?" Stan was fine when he found out that Butters was gay, but he clearly hated the idea to be applied to me.

"Because-" Stan sighed and was quiet. I looked up to ask him his reasoning but was cut off when he pressed his lips firmly against mine. He leaned back and smiled sheepishly. "Because I should have been the one to do it first." I was awesome at responses today. My awesome response pattern showed again when instead of speaking, I stared at Stan for a good minute. He laughed nervously, neither of us moving an inch.

"But I thought you liked Wendy?" I had considered the idea of being with Stan like that, but I never seen it as realistic. He shrugged.

"So did I. But seeing you with Kenny, I can see how much I care about you." That stung a bit. I frowned and took a step away.

"So you didn't care until you knew about Kenny and I?" Stan blinked a few times and shook his head before responding.

"No, dude. That's not what I meant." I felt frustrated and confused. Had this been even a few weeks ago, I would have been going insane out of happiness. But now it just felt wrong.

"Well then when did you know?" It was a stupid and egotistical sounding question, but I really did need the answer right then!

"Well we were talking and you came up in conversation. Kenny said-" I put my hands on my head and growled a noise of frustration.

"Are you kidding me?" I didn't have time to ask anything else before I heard Stan laugh.

"So it's true then?" He laughed again. I looked up to see him crossing his arms and begin pacing the room again. "You like Kenny."

"What?" I half screamed. Here we were in the middle of a conversation about us and he had to go and throw his whole jealous ranting into it.

"If you don't then call him and tell him right now." Stan tossed his phone over to me and plopped back down in his chair. "Tell him you're not interested." I stared at the phone in my hands, not knowing what to do. If I told Kenny, he probably would let this whole thing go. But I didn't know if I wanted that or not.

"Stan, listen-" Stan shook his head and walked over to me, snatching the phone out of my hand.

"I should have guessed it. Just remember what I told you, Kyle. You can't trust him. He will not lead you to any good. I guarantee it." I stumbled to my feet and moved quickly towards the door.

"Fine." I mumbled and reached for the door knob. Stan caught my by the wrist.

"Kyle, I'm sorry. Don't go." I pulled my hand away and opened the door.

"Get over yourself, man." I closed the door behind me and left the house without another word. Almost every part of me wanted to run back in and make up with him, but I was entitled to being angry. I was tired of always being the one to do anything.

I rushed home, wanting more than anything to sit down and clear my head. But upon reaching the steps to my house, I knew that wouldn't be the case. Sitting on the steps was the source of all of the change and craziness going on right now.

"Welcome home." Kenny said with a smile. "We need to talk."

**Ok let me know what your thoughts and opinions are! Sorry for the stall in putting out the chapter. I wasn't sure how I wanted it to go and wrote and rewrote about a million different scenarios. Hopefully I made the right choice!**


	4. Chapter 4

What I needed most was to be alone. I needed to sit in my room with all of my connections to the outside world cut off, windows shut and blinds closed. As I turned the corner to my house, I couldn't wish for anything more. And then I seen Kenny.

"We need to talk." He repeated, rising to his feet. I sighed and shook my head.

"Seriously, dude. Not the time." I walked around him and grabbed for the door knob. I felt Kenny's hand close over mine and turned to face him.

"Seriously, dude." He mocked me quickly, "This is the time. Would you rather we discuss this infront of your family or go somewhere private?" I stared at him, not believing what I was hearing.

"Get out of here!" I shoved him away from me. He laughed and leaned against the railing. I pushed the door open but before I could get in all the way, my genius attempt of escape was destroyed.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Broflowski!" The most sickeningly sweet voice rang out behind me. My mom popped her head out from the kitchen and waved hello to Kenny.

"Oh hello, Kenny! Kyle didn't say you were coming over today. Come in!" I turned on my heel and pushed Kenny out the door.

"No, mom! We're going to the park. I'll be back later." I heard her saying something before I closed the door and was met with an all to pleased looking Kenny.

"Shall we?" He motioned to his small rickety looking car behind him. I sighed and stomped over to his car, sliding into the passenger seat. Kenny started the engine after a few attempts and we were on our way to no where.

"What do you want, Kenny?" I pressed my face against the glass, trying to act more calm than I felt. Kenny reached for the radio dial and flipped through a few stations.

"Oh you know, the weather, sports, trending restaurants. Did you know Taco Bell was shut down again for tainted meat?" I tried to cover up a laugh, wanting Kenny to know I wasn't letting him get away with his shit this afternoon.

"I'm serious!" Kenny sighed and turned onto a country road. I could hear the pebbles bouncing off his windshield. He turned to face me for the first time since getting in the car. I couldn't read his expression at all. He acted like he was dumb to everyone, but anyone who knew anything knew that was far from the case.

"Things are not going to change between us just because you are afraid." I blinked a few times and tried to wrap my mind around his words.

"What do you mean, afraid? I'm not afraid of you!" Kenny chuckled and shook his head.

"No, I'm sure you're not." He smirked over at me and I looked away quickly. "But that's not what I'm talking about." Kenny pulled over and leaned back in his seat. I squirmed in mine and shot quick glances over to him.

"Well, what then?" I felt my heart pounding, not feeling ready to hear what would come. Kenny looked over to me and sighed.

"We're still partners, Kyle." I barely understood what he said, his words mumbled into his coat. A habit he had long since quit minus on select moments of discomfort. "We have a project to finish." I looked over to him and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah we do, dude. You're right." We sat in the car quietly for a while before Kenny began driving again. I felt horrible. I knew exactly what he wanted to talk about it and he was exactly right. I was afraid. I was afraid to admit anything that was going on between us. If I didn't say or do something now, I might lose what we did have...whatever that was.

We pulled around the corner back towards my house and came to a stop. Kenny looked over to me and smiled. Any trace of him being upset was completely gone.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow then." He said nonchalantly and reached across me to push open the door. I looked between his face and hand a few times, trying to think of anything to say. I sighed and started towards the door, ready to get out. I don't know what came over me, but in turning to say goodbye I lunged forward and kissed Kenny quickly before running out the door and not stopping until I shut the door to my room behind me.

I closed my eyes and hid my head under the pillows. What was I thinking? Kenny probably had all the wrong ideas now! He probably thought I liked him. Did I? I rolled over and stared at the ceiling. I always admired him and thought it was normal to feel that way about a friend. Only recently did I start realizing I was not on key with that notion. The same sentiments had once been held with Stan until he turned into a selfish Wendy-loving asshole! But still-

I shook my head and sat up in bed, sighing deeply.

"Fuck you." I mumbled under my breath. It was too clear to deny. I liked him more than just as friends. He had stolen my attention and every thought in my head the second we started spending alone time together. He was more amazing than any person I ever met, Stan included. I put my hand to my face and shook my head. I was, without a doubt, totally falling for Kenny.

I turned my attention to homework and chores, trying to distract my mind. Everything was moving way too quickly and I needed time to calm down before I did anything stupid. I was about done straightening up the living room when my parents decided they were going on a date night together for dinner. I was happy to have the house pretty much to myself- minus Ike.

Walking up the steps to my room about a half hour later, I smelled a very odd scent. It smelled almost like a skunk had gotten in the house. I checked the windows to make sure they were shut, suspecting the smelly critter to have struck near the house. I passed Ike's room and was almost knocked out by the smell. The poor kid must have left his window open. I pushed the door open and was greeted by a very different scene.

"Oh shit, Kyle!" Ike said and stuffed a rolled up crumple of paper and weed into an ash tray. He looked nervous and uncomfortable.

"Ike! What the hell?!" I looked between him and the line of smoke leaking from the joint. Ike laughed and reached for it, shaking his head.

"Oh calm down. It's just marijuana. You're acting like you walked in on me killing someone!" He rolled his eyes and pulled the smoking paper wad to his lips. I never cared much about the whole legalizing marijuana thing. I never thought it was a huge deal- until I caught Ike.

"That isn't good for you!" I reached for it and flung it out the window. He laughed and shook his head again.

"Relax, it's way better than most other things!" I knew he was right, but it didn't make me feel any bit better.

"That doesn't make it a fucking vegetable! Mom would break your legs if she ever found out-" Ike threw himself backwards onto his bed.

"You act like you're three, Kyle! So what if Mom throws a fit? It's not her life!" I frowned, having heard this argument a million times. I was in no mood to try to argue this with him all over again. He would learn logic eventually.

"I'm done bailing you out. Seriously, Ike. You're on your own. No more covering up for you- nothing. Then we'll see how you feel when Mom _throws a fit_." I mocked his last words and turned for the door not before catching a look of worry cross his face.

"You won't tell her, will you?" Suddenly the tough guy attitude was gone. I shrugged and looked over my should at him.

"You're on thin ice, Ike." I shut the door behind me and walked to my room. Maybe Kenny was right all along. Maybe just letting him get in trouble would snap him back to reality! I grabbed for my phone, dialing Kenny's number before giving myself the time to back out. I was on a roll god damnit!

"I was wondering when you'd call." I heard Kenny remark on the other line. Suddenly all of the wind was knocked out of my sails. All the confidence had drained away and I stood holding to phone to my ear not knowing what to say.

"Yeah, well. You have my number too." The line should have held a lot more punch to it and a lot less whine. I heard him laugh and drum his fingers against the phone.

"Is that what you called to tell me? That I have your phone number." I tried to exhale evenly to try to prove any sort of pride I still had. Unfortunately, the tremor in even my breath was audible.

"What you said earlier." I started, not knowing how to word this. The lack of idea in wording came mostly because I had no idea what I even wanted to say.

"What part? I said a lot earlier." I knew he was toying with me and had a good mind to hang up right then and there. But I knew I would only regret it and end up calling him back with an even more pathetic attempt at conversation.

"I'm not afraid." The words barely came out above a whimper, but the silence on the other line made it seem as if I shouted out some sort of stunning statement.

"So what are you saying?" There was no sarcasm or teasing in his voice. He actually sounded and shaken as I felt.

"I um. I like, huh um. Horror movies. I like watching um..horror movies." I heard Kenny laughing further away, like he pulled the receiver away from his mouth to laugh.

"Me too, Kyle. I have liked them for a long time." I felt my face burning red. I really hoped we were both referring to the same thing.

"Cool." I knew more words than almost anyone I ever met, but at this moment none of them would come to mind.

"So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then? Same time same place?" I laughed and nodded, then realized he couldn't see me nodding.

"Yeah, sounds great." We exchanged goodbyes and hung up. I stared at the receiver blankly and held my head in my hands. "What the fuck just happened?"

I went to school the next morning and sat in my desk. I had decided to catch a ride with my dad in the morning. He left much earlier than I normally did, so I usually didn't like to go with him. But this morning I really didn't have the energy to see anyone and did not mind the quite time alone in the hallway, waiting for the teachers to unlock to classroom doors.

I heard my phone chime in my pocket and grabbed for it. The alert was a text message from Stan.

"Dude, where r u?" I frowned and closed the phone. I hated when he wrote like that. Would it kill him to spell out the entire word? I silenced my phone and put it in my backpack when I seen someone coming from around the corner. I rose to my feet, expecting it to be the teacher coming to go in the classroom.

"Kyle?" I looked up, surprised by the unsuspected voice.

"Kenny! Why are you here so early?" He shrugged and leaned against one of the lockers.

"I left one of my school books here the other day. I needed it to finish an assignment. Why are you here? You normally catch the bus." I wished I had as good an excuse as he did.

"I woke up earlier than usual so my dad drove me." Kenny laughed and shook his head, but said nothing. The silence expanded on for what seemed like forever until the teacher showed up to unlock the door.

"Good morning you two!" She chirped and walked into the classroom. Kenny laughed and looked over to me again.

"I never understand people like her." He said quietly.

"What do you mean?" I looked after her as she began setting up the board for that day of classes while humming some song I never heard before.

"Morning people." We both laughed while trying to keep our voices down.

"Says the one who showed up to school early for homework." I retorted. Kenny smirked and rocked on his heal.

"Coming from the one who woke up early for no reason to come to school." The awkwardness between us seemed to crumble away mostly. We agreed to go to the cafeteria to continue talking and see what was being served. I offered to treat us knowing damn well Kenny wouldn't have the money for the school lunches.

"You'd think they were serving us gormet food for the prices they are charging. Three dollars for a scoop of potatoes and a pancake?" Kenny shook his head in disdain as he stacked up his plate. I tried to hide my laugh. "What?" He said with a smile.

"Nothing, Kenny." He looked between our plates and frowned again. "Should I put some of this back? It's going to be a lot." I shook my head and glanced at the register.

"No, it's cool, dude. It isn't that much." It ended up being $9, more than I ever paid before for school lunch but no where near expensive. I felt a pang of shame being able to spend money so much more freely than Kenny. I had a job just like he did, but pretty much all my money was for me. I didn't have to worry about buying my own groceries or anything like he did.

We had been talking about NASCAR for a couple minutes when someone grabbed me roughly by the shoulder. I turned around to see Stan scowling down at me.

"What's your problem, dude?" I snapped and pulled away from him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your date, I was just wondering what made it so hard to answer my messages." He huffed and crossed his arms.

"I got to school early because my dad drove me, relax man." I rolled my eyes, purposely ignoring his comment about the date. Kenny just leaned back in his seat watching the argument contently. "What is the big deal?"

"The big deal is that I was waiting outside your house all morning!" He retorted quickly. "I figured we would talk and stuff like you said you wanted to." Before I could say anything he rolled his eyes and disappeared in the crowd. I looked over to Kenny who shrugged, but had nothing to offer.

"Oh man! Lover's spat!" Cartman's voice rang out from across the room. With that, I took my que to vanish as well.


	5. Chapter 5

"So I guess it is about time I give my side of the story." I said out loud, running my fingers through my hair. It was flat against my head with the hood having been pulled so tightly around it all day.

I shifted in my seat, waiting for the right words to come to mind. Fortunately the only companion I had for the evening was a broken mirror. I sighed and rose to my feet, looking out the partially taped shut window looking over the junk pile that was our back yard.

I had been a total asshole, and he still liked me. If I had just followed through on my original plan-

I always knew Kyle was special to me. When I realized it was more than just because he was a great friend, it was too late. His interest in Stan and Stan's interest in him was more apparent than Cartman's inevitable development of diabetes. But the developments of the past few weeks gave way too much sway to the reality I had already accepted.

Kyle was available, and he was interested in me.

I shook my head and leaned it lightly against the cool window, making sure I wouldn't push it the rest of the way through. The only problem was that there was no safe way for Kyle to be a part of my life. Ever since I was a kid, I attracted trouble and danger. Not only for me, but everyone around me. I did everything I could to isolate myself from others, even going as far as to wear a parka to cover my mouth and face so that no one would try to indulge in conversation.

By the time high school rolled around, my reputation spread for me. Rumors that I was a drug dealer, slut, gang member and god only knows what else spread like wild fire and the need to avoid people was gone. They wanted nothing to do with me. Well- not all of them. Stan, Kyle and Cartman still stuck around every now and then.

Stan quickly faded into high school drama land with dating and sports. Cartman...well he continued being an asshole and fat ass, but beneath it all he did care about all of us. And then there was Kyle. Oblivious, naïve, dumb ass Kyle. And he never left my side, no matter how far I pushed him.

I tried being violent with Kyle, showing him he needed to remember who he was dealing with. Trying to show him that I was not the right person to be with or anywhere near for the matter. And before he could even get home, I already beat him back ready to apologize.

I punched the wall, furious at my own weakness. He might have never come back to me if I hadn't apologized. I could have protected him. But the idea of losing him was more painful than any death I ever had experienced or could ever imagine. The only difference between the two of us was that death didn't stop anything for me. If Kyle died, that would be it. There would be no waking up and seeing him, forgetting anything that happened. The heart ache would live on forever.

You see, the rumors about me are not without reason. I am not actually some straight edge ass kissing goody fucking two shoes. I've done shit I am not proud of. These things are not things I had a choice in the matter of acting out though. My sorry excuse for parents get our family into trouble more often than I inhale. Kevin isn't much better. I would never want anything to happen to Karen, so as much as I would just love to let them burn in their own pit of fuckery- I can't.

My life is tightly intertwined with things people are killed over. I wouldn't even make it to jail by the time anyone could cuff me if I got caught. That's fine, as much as it hurts every single time, I wake back up every morning with a clean slate. Since I was in fourth grade and found out for the first time the curse bestowed upon me, I knew it would be my duty to protect those who needed protecting.

But as any super hero movie that doesn't star Adam West will tell you, super heroes cannot have lovers. They get kidnapped, fucked up and or killed. Not that I am a super hero, far from it. But the same concept applies.

So why in fuck's name am I sitting on the couch waiting for Kyle to show up? Why am I inviting him into this monstrosity of a life I live? Why can't I just push him away like every other hot piece of ass who wants a piece of this fuck up called Kenny? Why does he have to be so- special?


End file.
